Rating: 
Summary: 2 much in 2 small a space
Review: 1 great segment -- the heroine, poet & linguist Rydra Wong, watches a space battle on a giant screen -- very vivid, very flashy. But the rest is just 2 much detail, 2 much happens, 2 much is crammed in2 200 pages. I've read it 2wice, & still think Delany needed more room -- which he wasn't gonna get from the original publishers back in '66. EMPIRE STAR and EINSTEIN INTERSECTION R better, tho this won Delany his 1st Nebula Award....
Rating: 
Summary: Proto-cyberpunk space opera combines poetry, intellect & fun
Review: A proto-cyberpunk blend of romantic space opera, high technology and street grunge. Interstellar defense forces fighting a devastating war ask Rydra Wong, genius, beauty, and "the most famous poet in five explored galaxies" to decode encrypted enemy communications linked to a series of damaging stealth attacks. Entertaining and edifying exploration of linguistic concepts. Good local color includes interstellar barrooms, decadent high tech banquets, and body modification that goes way beyond piercings. Rollicking adventure combined with intellectual challenge and poetry. Great fun, and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Proto-cyberpunk space opera combines poetry, intellect & fun
Review: A proto-cyberpunk blend of romantic space opera, high technology and street grunge. Interstellar defense forces fighting a devastating war ask Rydra Wong, genius, beauty, and "the most famous poet in five explored galaxies" to decode encrypted enemy communications linked to a series of damaging stealth attacks. Entertaining and edifying exploration of linguistic concepts. Good local color includes interstellar barrooms, decadent high tech banquets, and body modification that goes way beyond piercings. Rollicking adventure combined with intellectual challenge and poetry. Great fun, and highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Smart SF
Review: After reading Dhalgren, this novel is just like summer beach reading. Not that it's easy, but for the most part the effort is worth it. One of the few SF books to deal with the relatively esoteric topic of language and how it defines us (which really seems to be a natural SF topic, being that they deal with aliens and stuff so much), something it sort of shares with Ian Watson's The Embedding. Delany however won a deserved Nebula for this book (actually he tied with Flowers for Algernon, also a fine book, but as different from this as can be), which probably wasn't at all what readers were expecting in 1966 when this was published. But who cares what the readers want, as long as it's good? And this is. As I mentioned before it's a mediation on how language defines us, both to ourselves and in relation to other people, all cloaked in a Space Opera type story. The Invaders (who are never really seen, weirdly enough, but I think they're human) are attacking the Alliance and are using a mysterious weapon called Babel-17. What is it? Nobody is really sure so the military recruits famous poet Rydra Wong to figure out what's going on. She has little idea either but has come closer than most people. What follows is layer upon layer of story as Ms Wong examines her own life as she tries to unravel the mystery of Babel-17, examining both the roots of language and doing her best not to get killed. Rydra is a rarity in SF, a three dimensional woman who stands on her own as a strong character who doesn't come across as an emotional maelstrom or an ice-cold witch. She's one of the most enjoyable and well-rounded characters to come down the pipeline in SF and there are very few characters since who can match up to her. Delany's story just a bit wacky toward the end and he makes up more than a few SF twists to explain the ending but the story holds together really well and it has brains and a soul underneath all the deep thinking. It's also very short, so all the people scared off by Dhalgren can come over here and see what the man can do in small doses. Then they can move on to the big stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Smart SF
Review: After reading Dhalgren, this novel is just like summer beach reading. Not that it's easy, but for the most part the effort is worth it. One of the few SF books to deal with the relatively esoteric topic of language and how it defines us (which really seems to be a natural SF topic, being that they deal with aliens and stuff so much), something it sort of shares with Ian Watson's The Embedding. Delany however won a deserved Nebula for this book (actually he tied with Flowers for Algernon, also a fine book, but as different from this as can be), which probably wasn't at all what readers were expecting in 1966 when this was published. But who cares what the readers want, as long as it's good? And this is. As I mentioned before it's a mediation on how language defines us, both to ourselves and in relation to other people, all cloaked in a Space Opera type story. The Invaders (who are never really seen, weirdly enough, but I think they're human) are attacking the Alliance and are using a mysterious weapon called Babel-17. What is it? Nobody is really sure so the military recruits famous poet Rydra Wong to figure out what's going on. She has little idea either but has come closer than most people. What follows is layer upon layer of story as Ms Wong examines her own life as she tries to unravel the mystery of Babel-17, examining both the roots of language and doing her best not to get killed. Rydra is a rarity in SF, a three dimensional woman who stands on her own as a strong character who doesn't come across as an emotional maelstrom or an ice-cold witch. She's one of the most enjoyable and well-rounded characters to come down the pipeline in SF and there are very few characters since who can match up to her. Delany's story just a bit wacky toward the end and he makes up more than a few SF twists to explain the ending but the story holds together really well and it has brains and a soul underneath all the deep thinking. It's also very short, so all the people scared off by Dhalgren can come over here and see what the man can do in small doses. Then they can move on to the big stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Psychodelic sci-fi.
Review: Can a poetess save the universe? This 1966 Nebula award winning novel tells us the story. The Nebulas are awarded to the best NEW novels. Not necessarily the ones that survive the test of time.
Rating:
Summary: language as tool (and weapon)
Review: Delaney explores the influence of language on thoughts en indentity. Would we be who we are when we had grown up, using a language with no word for me or I or, for that matter, you? Would we be able to think better or faster when we used another language for our thoughts? Is that a way to define intelligence? Can language be used to manipulate so sharply that it becoms a weapon? A must-read SF classic, not only because of the theme, but also because of the vivid new (1966!) universe he created, and the way he sees our future. Delaney avoids the trap of (some) older SF-writers: to focus on the theme instead of the plot. It's an excellent read. Babel-17 won the Nebula Award in 1966.
Rating:
Summary: One of half-dozen SF novels dealing heavily with linguistics
Review: Far and away Delaney's best. Surprising elements of cyberpunk, unusual social settings, hard physics, and the piece de resistance, the use of an artificial language as a sabotage tool. Highly recommended; part of a literate SF Fan's cultural background as well as an excellent reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Every time I read it I find new facets of the whole
Review: Having read this book untold times. I never fail to catch new bits of plot. Although dated in some areas it begs to be reread time and time again.
Rating: 
Summary: Mills & Boon in space
Review: I am a big fan of modern science fiction, and occasionally feel I should try to appreciate older science fiction. Often I am dissapointed. This is the case with Babel 17. Written in the late 60's, there are some quite good ideas here which would not be out of place in an 80's-90's cyberpunk novel: Modifying the human body, virtual reality, genetically enhanced super soldiers etc etc. Unfortunately they are completely buried under a pile of wide-screen space-opera romantic nonsense. The lead character is a poet. She must be very beautiful, because every male character in the book seems to fall in love with her. Pages and pages are devoted to this. As well as this she is humankinds only hope as only she can decode the mysterious babel 17 language. Over the period of one night she convinces the military to give her command of a ship, and talks an officer into helping her recruit an entire crew. (as you do) She then proceeds to take of, gets lost and is then captured by, you guessed it, space pirates! When the big tough leader inevitably falls in love with her I was ready to put the book down. But I persevered to the end only to be rewarded by a limp, confusing and insipid ending. If you read this book when you were younger (as most of the reviewers on this page seemed to) you will probably love it. But if you are approaching it fresh I assure you, there are better titles out there.
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